About Me

[in a cabin in the mountains, Jim wakes up and bangs his head on the table he was sleeping under]
Alex Rieger: Jim, are you alright?
"Reverend" Jim Ignatowski: Yeah...uh ... who are you?
Alex Rieger: I'm Alex. We're friends, we work together.
"Reverend" Jim Ignatowski: What? are we, lumberjacks?
Alex Rieger: No, we're cabdrivers.
"Reverend" Jim Ignatowski: I bet we don't do much business up here!

Only the obvious questions: Are we sure the professor can handle a few beers? Second, why beer? The president isn't what you'd call a regular guy. And Professor "do you know who I am?" Gates -- wouldn't he most likely be a wine snob?

I kid, of course. It's beer because Barack wants to appear to be a regular guy.

Will the Obama charisma overpower Sgt. Crowley? I expect not. There is actually a chance that this is a teachable moment; if only Obama and Gates put aside their disdain and listen.

Saw this at NRO but I didn't follow the link; so sure was I that it must be some kind of Onion parody. But no, it's real:

The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a coalition of Palestinian militias in the West Bank, said in a statement released to a Jerusalem-based journalist that it was “very upset” that it featured in the film starring Baron Cohen’s homosexual fashionista alter ego.

“We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man,” it said. “The movie was part of a conspiracy against the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.”

Cue Twilight Zone music. That responding in "the way we find suitable" is scary, huh? So how do martyrs respond to ridicule? We'll sue!:

The group condemned the use of the interview with Mr Abu Aita. “This was a dirty use of our brother, Ayman, and we don’t accept that the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades is part of the film,” the statement said.

Mr Abu Aita claims that he was tricked into appearing in the film and that he is no longer involved with the Martyrs’ Brigades. He has threatened to sue Baron Cohen. “This man, I think he is not a man,” Mr Abu Aita said. “He is not saying the truth about me. He lied.”

He lied, oh and also, I'm not a member any more. Right now we're trying to find a good Jewish lawyer that will work with us. Good luck with that.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

On cap-and-trade, he's got a monstrosity on his hands. He presents a bill in which you want to auction off pollution rights—you can argue it's a good or bad idea—and create a market. Instead, his people in Congress give away almost 90 percent of the permits as patronage and political favors.

So he's got a disaster on his hands as a result of the reality of what is in the bills. You can hide it all in rhetoric, but once it gets in legislation, you can't hide anymore.

See that's what bugs me. It's taking money that I will eventually pay and giving it to somebody else's cronies, or using it to buy support for things I don't want.

One day Sven and Ole were Deer Hunting, and they got lost. Sven tells Ole "wait, don't panic I learned what to do in case this happens. Your supposed to shoot up into the air three times and someone will hear you and come with help,"

"Okay" said Ole. So he shoots three times into the air. They both wait an hour and no one shows up. So they shoot three times again and still no one shows up. Bewildered they try this again, and again, for the next couple of hours.

Ole starts to look a little worried, then he shouts "It better work this time, were down to our last three arrows!"

I think most people realize that Obama's "apology" wasn't really an apology. He might be right about this being a teachable moment, but I'm not sure he realizes that it's the Harvard professor who needs the education. Via Newsbusters, Brit Hume nails the apology thing:

BRIT HUME: Well, I think Robert Gibbs didn't add a lot, probably trying not to add a lot on this -- on this issue, but, you know, what's striking about this is the president was clearly trying to get this over with, put the firestorm out, and yet, in the end, he couldn't bring himself to actually apologize for himself.

This president who travels the world apologizing for his country couldn't quite apologize for himself. He spoke of not calibrating his words perfectly. He suggested he didn't mean to malign the -- the police officer in question or the Cambridge police department. But he said they acted "stupidly." If you say something like that, you obviously malign them.

So, in the end, this controversy may be nearing an end, but if he had made an outright apology and said he never should have waded into it in the first place, and it wasn't -- shouldn't have been a question of calibrating words; he shouldn't have said any words -- if he'd said that, it would be over. Yet here we are, talking about it still. I don't think he got the -- the job done.

Obama's apologies on behalf of the United States have always been apologies on behalf of those (mostly) dead white European types; he's never apologized for Obama's America. That kind of talk doesn't really move us forward, does it?

Here's hoping that when President Palin gives her first speeches as president on foreign soil, she'll be able to resist the temptation to bash the Obama administration. (even though there might be much to apologize for) ***From one of the greatest movies ever made, A Thousand Clowns:

SANDRA MARKOWITZ:So, Murray, which job did you get?

MURRAY BURNS:. . . Now, picture if you will: I am walking on East 51st Street about an hour ago, practicing how to say "I am sorry" with a little style . . .

SANDRA:Sorry for what?

MURRAY:Oh, anything . . . just rehearsing . . . Uh, well [clears throat . . . You know how it is when you're walking down the street talking to yourself, how suddenly you say something out loud?

SANDRA:Uh huh . . .

MURRAY:So I said, "I'm sorry," and this fella walking by, a complete stranger, he looks up a second, and he says, "That's alright, Mac," and he goes right on! [laughs] He automatically forgave me! I communicated! Now, 5:00 rush hour in midtown you could say, "Sir, your hair is on fire," and they wouldn't even hear you. So -- I decided to test the whole thing scientifically. I just stood there on the corner of 51st and Lex saying "I'm sorry" to everybody that came by.

"I'm so sorry, Sir."

"I'm terribly sorry, Madam."

"Say there, Miss. I'm sorry."

Of course, I got a few funny looks, but I swear, Sandy, 75% of 'em forgave me! Something had happened to all of them for which they felt somebody should apologize. It was fabulous! I had tapped into some vast reservoir. I just said, "I'm sorry," and they were all so generous, so kind . . .

SANDRA:Murray . . .

MURRAY:Yeah, Sandy, I could run up on the roof right now, and holler, "I'm sorry!" and a half-million people would holler back, "That's okay, just see that you don't do it again!" [laughs]

SANDRA:Murray, you didn't take any of the jobs . . .

MURRAY: Uh, Sandy, uh, I, uh . . . I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.

SANDRA:[Silence]

MURRAY: Well, dammit, lady, that was a beautiful apology. I mean, you gotta love a guy who can apologize so nice. I rehearsed it for over an hour.

SANDRA:[More silence]

MURRAY: Aww, Sandy, that's the most you should expect from life -- a really good apology for all the things you won't get . . .

You can see why we needed Obama at this point in our history, right? When our country has sunk to the level where white men with guns have the gall to openly investigate the report of a break-in in broad daylight. Well, that's just going too far.

(aside- what a trip: one day you're doing your job, same-old, same-old; the next day, the president of the United States is calling you stupid)

Fortunately, we've gotten the attention of the smartest man to ever walk the planet. Now all that remains is for Obama to outline exactly how to act when investigating the report of a crime in progress. Obviously, point number one will be to leave if a suspected burglar says, "This is my house." Only the real homeowner could say that.

I kid of course. Excuse the language, but this is nothing more than douchenozzlery. It's not a black thing; white folks do it too. Some people are just too smug and self important to realize what they owe to the men who put on a bullet proof vest every morning to go out into unknown situations to protect and serve. At a minimum, we owe the police cooperation. Period. Henry Louis Gates is the one who acted stupidly, not officer Crowley. (and I'm supposed to let the man who calls Crowley stupid take charge of my health care?)

That being said, maybe it's a good idea to put Mr. Gates on a do not investigate list. Obviously, Mr Gates knows his rights and will be able to assert them over the next burglar who forces in his front door.

***Update:Our president blathers on:

"I have to say I am surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement, because I think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who's in his own home," Obama said.

Oh really? So it would probably be ok not to handcuff these guys either:

All murders, and the 58 year old, the same age as Henry Louis Gates, killed two people. Maybe it's the cane. If they tell you they need a cane, can they skip the handcuffs?

If Obamacare was a good thing, everyone would want it, right? Well, among those who know it best, um, not so much:

In the health debate, liberals sing Hari Krishnas to the "public option" -- a new federal insurance program like Medicare -- but if it's good enough for the middle class, then surely it's good enough for the political class too? As it happens, more than a few Democrats disagree.

On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn that would require all Members and their staffs to enroll in any new government-run health plan. Yet all Democrats -- with the exceptions of acting chairman Chris Dodd, Barbara Mikulski and Ted Kennedy via proxy -- voted nay.

In other words, Sherrod Brown and Sheldon Whitehouse won't themselves join a plan that "will offer benefits that are as good as those available through private insurance plans -- or better," as the Ohio and Rhode Island liberals put it in a recent op-ed. And even a self-described socialist like Vermont's Bernie Sanders, who supports a government-only system, wouldn't sign himself up.

"I'm a socialist; I'm not crazy."

Not unrelated: my brother got a hip joint replaced this morning - by a talented doctor who works hard and cares for his patients. He would still be talented if he worked for Obama, but it's nice to know he will benefit personally from doing a good job this morning.

If you need any work done, maybe now would be a good time to get on it, before your doctor gets forced to work for the same people who brought you the Department of Education.

Personally, I would have sped up the legal-disclaimer spiel at the end. It's the best part of the real drug ads - "may cause drowsiness, headache, explosive diarrhea, gout, dropsy, the Mondays, and cause your head to explode. Please call your doctor if you have any of these conditions or your toes turn blue..."

Course, their intent was to bring those drawbacks to your attention; unlike the real ads.

You don't think the president would actually lie about being able to keep your private health insurance, do you? Maybe he should be saying, "you'll be able to keep your private health insurance in much the same way the stimulus bill created jobs."

During the call, a blogger from Maine said he kept running into an Investors Business Daily article that claimed Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance. He asked: “Is this true? Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is passed?” President Obama replied: “You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about.” (quote begins at 17:10)

This is a truly disturbing admission by the President, especially considering that later in the call, Obama promises yet again: “If you have health insurance, and you like it, and you have a doctor that you like, then you can keep it. Period.” How can Obama keep making this promise if he is not familiar with the health legislation that is being written in Congress? Details matter.

We are familiar with the passage IBD sites, and as we wrote last week, the House bill does not outright outlaw private individual health insurance, but it does effectively regulate it out of existence.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Politico has the story of how David Keene of the ACU does political shakedowns à la Jesse Jackson:

The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s support in a bitter legislative dispute, then the group’s chairman flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.

For the $2 million plus, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and/or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”

The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx , which was provided to POLITICO.

The letter exposes the practice by some political interest groups of taking stands not for reasons of pure principle, as their members and supporters might assume, but also in part because a sponsor is paying big money.

In the three-page letter asking for money on June 30, the conservative group backed FedEx. After FedEx says it rejected the offer, Keene signed onto a two-page July 15 letter backing UPS. Keene did not return a message left on his cell phone.

The American Conservative Union did issue a press release stating support for Federal Express, and claiming that it's just their chairman who disagrees. Um, sure. Glad you cleared that up ACU, so it's only your chairman who is a prostitute. OK folks, nothing to see here, go about your business.

This is a sources sought notice and not a request for quotations. The purpose of this announcement is to seek qualified contractors with the capability to provide presentations for The Department of Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt (BPD), Management Meeting with experience in meeting the objectives as described herein.

The Contractor shall conduct two, 3-hour, Humor in the Workplace programs that will discuss the power of humor in the workplace, the close relationship between humor and stress, and why humor is one of the most important ways that we communicate in business and office life. Participants shall experience demonstrations of cartoons being created on the spot. The contractor shall have the ability to create cartoons on the spot about BPD jobs. The presenter shall refrain from using any foul language during the presentation. This is a business environment and we need the presenter to address a business audience.

So hey, I'm all over this one. I've got the money-gone cartoon down, I just need to work on the dollar bill with wings flying off into the horizon. (OK so maybe that head is a little scary, but it was on-the-spot)

Darn it, Drudge ruined everything, so they modified the RFI to "never mind" status. (and after I did all that work -- I was even working on the no-foul-language clause)

Actually, I do government contracting. And I've seen no increase in RFQ's in my field. Course, mostly I work for Department of Defense so I don't expect a lot from the Obama administration. (until he gets us into a war, that is) I do know that the SBA is working hard, and that some people are getting help from the stimulus. Like that cartoonist. Most likely they had someone in mind for this contract. But we ruined that.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

That Karl Rove piece on the stimulus whacks the nail on the head. The money isn't going out the door. We continue losing jobs. Plus, with every hopey-changey idea we go deeper in debt:

So what's a president to do when the promises he made about his economic stimulus program fail to materialize? If you're Barack Obama, you redefine your goals and act as if America won't remember what you said originally. That's a neat trick if you can get away with it, but Mr. Obama won't. His words are a matter of public record and he will be held to them.

When it came to the stimulus package, the president and his administration promised, in the words of National Economic Director Larry Summers, "You'll see the effects begin almost immediately." Now it's clear that those promised jobs and growth haven't materialized.

Joe "Gee, we didn't know it was this bad" Biden is sure there's nothing wrong with the stimulus package. How could there be? They spent many long hard moments skimming parts of it before ramming it down our throats. If there were any flaws, certainly brief perusals would have found them.

Have you read Sarah Palin in the WaPo? No, not the usual article about her second cousin's dog groomer getting drunk at a picnic; it's an op-ed by Sarah Palin, re- Cap and Trade. Favorite bit:

In addition to immediately increasing unemployment in the energy sector, even more American jobs will be threatened by the rising cost of doing business under the cap-and-tax plan. For example, the cost of farming will certainly increase, driving down farm incomes while driving up grocery prices. The costs of manufacturing, warehousing and transportation will also increase.

The ironic beauty in this plan? Soon, even the most ardent liberal will understand supply-side economics.

The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will "necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year.

That is the silver lining: that the Change and Hopists have to live in this economy with us. They can't opt out, and you can expect them to notice when their utility bills start growing.

Read the article. This is why Sarah Palin is being attacked long after the presidential race is over - she gets it. They're afraid of debate.